ON SWiTCH
by sunflowerb
Summary: futurfic. namicentric. rn. sk. 'Namine, we've had hearts and beings of our own for four years! Why is it that Sora and Kairi have gotten married and pregnant in that time and I've only kissed you twice in the last three years.' She didn't want to be Kairi


**A/N: This is more of a futurfic than AU. Think of it as happening several years after some form of a KH3 or KH4 adventure. The general setting will be further explained and will make more sense the further down you read. Radiant Garden politics: sort of a monarchy and democracy. Minor OOCness is due to them all being older. This is my longest oneshot to date. Namine centric. Namixas, sokai. **

**also, since its been pointed out that Kairi and Namine seem too bad-tempered; my point was that their jobs tend to bring out the worst in them...**

**It may be confusing at first, but please give it a chance.**

**Disclaimer: I haveKHODD.You know,Kingdom Hearts Ownership Deficit Disorder. **

**. O N . S W i T C H .**

The usual hustle and bustle of the hallways increased ten-fold as the palace workers hurried to make way for the click-clack of the white pumps. These people had been working at the palace long enough to know to stay out of _her _way when she was busy. It wasn't so much that they were particularly frightened of her; they just knew that smooth palace operations relied solely on her ability to get where she needed to go. Well, and she was known to occasionally lose her temper if someone got in her way when she was stressed. Right now, the Princess was under a lot of stress, which meant that _she _would be stressed, which meant that they had better stay out of her way. Which is why the click-clack of her white pumps signaled them to clear the center of the hallways.

There was someone with her today. Doubtless he wanted a meeting with Her Majesty.

If he wanted that, he would have to keep up with the white pumps. He hadn't thought this would be so difficult; the woman was quite a deal shorter than him.

"You _do _realize that this isn't exactly the best time to see the Princess?" She asked sharply, paying no heed to the servants who were practically diving out of her way.

The man walking beside her, however, was still in amazement at the fear the young woman managed to instill in her workers. He raised his eyebrow as they turned a corner and the already bustling crowd began to scatter. He swept his brown bangs out of his eyes. "I know this may not be the best time, but I wouldn't be here if this weren't really important. I know the Princess has got a lot on her plate right now."

The woman gave a light, disbelieving chuckle. "You think? She's six months pregnant and her husband and best friends are on the other side of the galaxy. Overwhelmed is putting it lightly. And it doesn't help that her parents can't come up from the Islands. The mayor has some law that he's trying to keep from getting passed through legislature, and her mother's got the flu. So yes, Leon, you could say that now is certainly _not _the best time."

Leon simply shook his head. This girl had seemed so nice when he'd first met her a few years ago. Stress apparently brought out the worst in her.

They turned another corner and a young woman in a suit (obviously a palace coordinator of some sort, Leon thought) gently and hesitantly tapped on the elbow of the white-pump clad woman Leon had been following. She kept walking but turned to look expectantly at the girl who had tried to get her attention.

The girl gulped and quickened her pace to keep up. "Um, Lady Naminé, um, about the council meeting set for tomorrow afternoon…"

"Well," Naminé snapped, "What about it?"

The girl bit her lip. "Well, milady, it's been, um, moved."

Naminé rolled her eyes. "They can't keep a decision to save their lives! When is it? Come on now, Sonia, speak up!"

The girl, apparently named Sonia, gulped again. "…in twenty minutes."

Naminé halted. She stared at Sonia, completely disbelieving. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When her clear blue eyes opened they were calm. She smiled. "Sonia, can you tell the council that the Princess has a visitor who needs to discuss some business that is of the utmost importance, and that the meeting will have to be postponed until such time as she is done?"

Sonia bit her lip. "Well, um…"

Naminé smiled more sweetly. "Also, I need you to tell the council that, in case they haven't noticed, their Princess is having a baby, and she is in no condition to be summoned whenever they so please. Now that they've got their collars starched they can just keep them that way until Her Majesty is ready to deal with them."

Sonia forced a smile. "Y-yes, milady, but…"

"Or, if they'd like, as soon as I get the Princess set up to speak with her visitor, I can personally deal with them." Her sweet smile turned slightly sinister. "And I know they'd just _love _that." Sonia forced her smile wider.

"Understood, milady. I'll deliver your message immediately!" And the girl all but flew down the busy hallway and out of sight.

Leon shook his head. "And you were so meek when I first met you."

Naminé smiled. "That was back before I realized I didn't have to be." They resumed walking. "Dealing with the council is a lot like dealing with the Organization. Makes me the perfect person for the job, doesn't it? The big difference of course is that I'm not terrified of everyone anymore. For once the status quo is actually in my favor, so that helps. But I can't expect you to understand the kind of difference gaining a heart of your own makes." Her grin grew. It was a genuine smile; not the sinisterly sweet one she'd given Sonia. It made her look much more like the sweet little teenage girl he'd met so long ago.

They finally reached a set of large, oak double doors that were ornately decorated with ostentatious details set into the gold leaf. They paused, and Naminé turned to Leon.

"Wait here," she instructed. "I have to make sure she's up to visitors." Leon nodded and waited while the blonde opened one of the ornate doors and disappeared into the rooms beyond. He sighed deeply. Why did _he _have to be the one to draw the short straw? How he dreaded having to give the Princess this kind of news. For the most part, she and Naminé were quite sweet, but the Princess did have a bit of a temper. Giving her such news would be bad enough under normal circumstances, but he especially dreaded giving such news to a very hormonal, very pregnant princess.

One of the large doors opened and Naminé let him in. As soon as she closed the door, she hurried back over to Kairi and attempted to help her to one of the armchairs in the fancy parlor they had just entered. The Princess swatted away Naminé's hand. "Nami, I'm fine. They haven't put me on bed rest _yet._" Naminé shrugged and sat down in another chair. Kairi smiled at Leon as she took her seat. "Squall! It's good to see you! How's the rest of the Restoration Committee?"

Leon rolled his eyes as he leaned up against the silk wallpaper. "Please, Your Majesty, it's Leon, not Squall."

Kairi narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "Fine. I'll call you Leon, if you call me Kairi. Enough of this 'your Majesty' and 'Princess' business. You've known me since long before I took the throne. It's Kairi to you, and that's final!"

Leon shook his head. If there was one thing about Kairi that hadn't changed over the years, it was that demanding frown of hers. The same look that the fourteen-year old girl he'd been forced to baby-sit all those years ago had given him was the one he was now being given by the twenty-one year old ruler of Radiant Garden.

Naminé sighed exasperatedly. "Can we get on with it already? What brings you here, Leon?"

Leon inhaled and prepared to break the news. "Well, I'll try to make it quick, since you've got that council meeting…" he broke off as the two girls burst into giggles.

Naminé was the first to calm her laughter. "Oh, Leon, take as long as you like!"

Kairi grinned at him. "The longer we keep them waiting the better!" She and Naminé looked at each other and started giggling again. Leon had to wait for them to calm down before continuing.

"Look, it's about the computer in the basement." The girls' smiles dropped off their faces.

"What about it?" Kairi asked, concern filling her features.

Leon crossed his arms. "Something's gone wrong in Tron's world, and it's affected the communication system…Meaning we can't contact anyone from it."

He was met with shocked silence.

"You mean…I can't…I can't contact Sora?" Leon hated seeing Kairi look so crushed. Naminé began to worry. The computer in what had once been Ansem's study had been Kairi's lifeline since the boys had left. Her condition had obviously restricted her from joining them on their mission, but with the computer she had still been able to contact her husband and keep him updated on their child's progress. Another realization hit Naminé and she nearly fainted as it jabbed into her heart.

_I can't talk to Roxas._

She shook her head a little to clear it. No. Why should she care this much? They were just friends. Just friends. _Just friends_. She didn't love him. Not anymore…Right? Then why should she care this much about not being able to talk to him?

"We're already working on fixing it. But…we may need Sora and the keyblade to fix the problem." Leon explained. "He knows Tron's world better than we do."

Naminé looked up from her white shoes to check that her former other-half was alright. Kairi was staring empty-eyed at her swollen stomach, rubbing it a little with one hand. Naminé sighed and turned her attention back to Leon.

"What about Cid's computer?" The blonde asked softly.

Leon gave her a small smile. "We managed to contact them this morning with it." Kairi immediately perked up.

"You did?" She asked, breathless.

Leon nodded. "That was how we first discovered something was wrong. They called us on Cid's computer because they couldn't get through on the supercomputer. But Cid's computer isn't upgraded enough to handle that kind of transmission and we lost contact. But don't worry, girls, as far as we know, they're all fine."

Leon could have had no way of knowing how he had just freaked the Princess out.

Kairi's eyes grew wide. "As far as you know…what's that supposed to mean?" She started hyperventilating. "Are they okay? Were they in trouble? What aren't you telling us?!" She burst into tears as Naminé rushed to her side.

_Good Lord, this girl is pregnant. _Leon thought.

Naminé rubbed Kairi's back and tried to calm the panicked Princess down.

"They're fine!" Leon said loudly, trying to speak louder than Kairi's sobs. Slowly the Princess calmed down, and Naminé retook her seat. Leon began to fully appreciate how difficult the blonde's job must be. When she wasn't scaring palace workers she waited on Kairi constantly, keeping the Princess company in the absence of the rest of their friends.

"We're working on fixing the problem," Leon assured her. "Until then, Cid's working on upgrading his computer so that we can contact them on it." Kairi brightened up a great deal at this news.

_So maybe I can talk to Roxas._ Naminé felt her heart soar. She promptly gave herself a mental slap. _No. Stop thinking like this. You don't love him. You _don't _love him!_

His message delivered, and Kairi in no hurry to meet with the Council, the two proceeded to talk about everyday things; how Kairi's pregnancy was coming along, how the rest of the committee were, when they were coming to visit; just this that and the other.

Naminé had stopped listening. She distractedly played with the faux white daisy pinned to her short-sleeve, cropped white suit jacket. White. Always white. Despite Kairi's best efforts to get her to wear color, Naminé had stubbornly stuck to white. White like Kairi's wedding dress. White like the wedding dress Naminé would never marry Roxas in.

_You don't care, though!_ She told herself.

The last time she'd kissed Roxas had been, what, two years ago, three years ago? It had been at Kairi and Sora's wedding, she remembered that. And that had been three years ago. And even that kiss had been their first since gaining hearts of their own. Why was it that Sora and Kairi had fallen madly in love, gotten married as soon as they were old enough, and were now having a baby, whereas she and Roxas had nervously remained just friends for years?

_You don't love him. _She stubbornly repeated this mantra, over and over and over.

"Nami?" Naminé looked up to see Kairi smiling at her. "Wake up, sis, we get to go bug the council now." Naminé forced a smile. She knew her sister wouldn't buy it, but at least Leon and the council would.

KH

Naminé forced herself to keep smiling as she helped Kairi twist the strings of pearls through her long auburn hair. Whereas Naminé had always preferred to keep her hair at shoulder length, Kairi, who had once surreptitiously kept her hair boyishly short, had come to love growing her hair out quite long. At it's longest it was half-way down her back, but it was layered as such that it still framed her face and brushed her shoulders. Naminé didn't see how Kairi could stand having that much hair, but Kairi loved it, and "Besides," Kairi had once blushingly admitted, "Sora likes it long."

"I wonder what the council wants _this _time?" Naminé mused, as she braided a flower into Kairi's hair.

The princess sighed. "I don't know. All I know is that it means that I have to get all dressed up and listen to them drone on about what all the problems in this kingdom are while they talk behind my back about what a horrible ruler I am, when all I really want to do is lay in bed, watch TV, and eat whatever the cravings command while I enjoy the some form of maternity leave the stupid council has been smart enough to grant me."

Naminé rolled her eyes.

"Nami…" Naminé looked up and met Kairi's eyes through their reflections.

"Yeah Kai?"

Kairi sighed. "Nami, are you okay?"

Naminé smiled. "I'm fine."

Kairi rolled her eyes. "No you're not. You've been acting kind of weird since Leon told us we can't talk to the boys." Naminé squirmed a bit. "Nami, you're my sister, and beyond that, you used to be my nobody. And even though you've got your own heart and we're not part of the same person anymore, we're still connected. You know that. I can't lie to you, and you can't lie to me." Kairi smiled. "Come on, Nami, what's wrong."

Naminé sighed dejectedly. It was no use trying to hide anything from Kairi. Having once been a part of her meant that confiding in each other was second nature. She knew that there wasn't anything that she couldn't tell Kairi.

"I just…miss the boys. That's all." She hoped the conversation would end there, but she should have known that Kairi wouldn't let it stay at that.

"Is this about Roxas?"

"No!" Naminé snapped, a little too defensively.

Kairi gave her a knowing smile. "You love him."

Naminé frowned at her. "I do not!"

Kairi rolled her eyes and laughed. "Why does this conversation feel so familiar? Well, other than the fact that we've had it about 800 times before, that is. Do you remember all those millions of times that I had to listen to you yapp on in my head about how I did too love Sora and that if I didn't tell him so, that the poor oblivious boy would never figure it out on his own?"

The comment forced a small smile onto Naminé's face.

Kairi turned her attention back to her make-up. "I'm telling you, Nami, you love him, and he loves you. Just because the two of you have your own hearts doesn't mean that the Sora and Kairi in you aren't still in love. Not that you necessarily need to have been a part of us to fall in love with him…"

Naminé smiled wryly. "Tell Roxas that."

Kairi smiled back. "I can assure you that Sora already has."

KH

The same nervous young woman who had had the misfortune of telling Lady Naminé that the council meeting had been moved was now standing in front of the large double doors at the end of the council meeting room to announce the arrival of the Princess.

The other council members were already grumpily standing in front of their chairs, waiting for the arrival of the Princess and her right-hand woman.

Sonia cleared her throat. "Now presenting her royal majesty, ruler of Radiant Garden, one of the seven-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Princess Kairi and Lady Naminé, minus all the fancy, let's get on with it." Kairi griped as she pushed through the double doors and stormed into the meeting room. She glared at the annoyed council members.

"Your Majesty, you're supposed to wait until your arrival has been announced," one of the council pointed out.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "If I stood out there waiting till the poor kid got finished with the titles and whatnot, my due date would have arrived and then we'd have to postpone the meeting while I gave birth."

Naminé stifled her laughter as she took her seat at her desk in the corner behind Kairi and pulled out her laptop.

The council members rolled their eyes at the Princess as they all sat down.

"So," Kairi began, with a false air of cheeriness. "What matter is so seemingly important as to drag a poor, pregnant woman from her rest?"

Aggravated sneers replied to her smile.

Naminé thought she was going to die of laughter.

"Well, _Your Majesty,_" one of old, stuffy looking councilmen began; putting emphasis on 'Your Majesty' in a way that suggested that he loathed addressing her by the title, "We've taken some time to consider your proposal."

"Which one is that?" Naminé inquired from her corner.

The rather large council turned to look at her. "We were talking to the Princess." One member informed her staunchly. Naminé narrowed her eyes, and they turned back to Kairi. The council knew that Naminé was capable of rearranging memories, although Kairi had conveniently 'forgotten' to tell them she could only rearrange the memories of those who held a place in Sora's heart (and these people certainly had no place there.)

"Your proposal concerning the training of citizens of worlds prone to heartless attack how to defend themselves from these creatures; including setting up automatic defensive systems similar to the one used to defend Radiant Garden."

"Ah." Kairi nodded her expression hardening. The smug looks on the council's faces told her that something was up.

"I'm afraid we've decided to reject your proposal."

"What?!" Kairi jumped up out of her seat and glared at the council. "That was a good idea! What can you possibly have found wrong with it?"

The councilman smiled. "Why, what a silly question, your highness."

"Oh, they're asking for it now," Naminé muttered to herself.

Kairi's eyes narrowed further. Her fist clenched and a flash of light announced her keyblade's arrival. "You forget who you're talking to." She said firmly, her tone saying quite clearly that they shouldn't dare object. Naminé quickly turned her laptop to face the council and turned the webcam on. She wanted this on camera. "I'm under a lot of stress right now, _in case you haven't noticed._" She motioned to her stomach. "And since you all insist upon talking to me, you will at least talk to me with the respect you owe. After the council elections come and I inform the public that _none _of you have my endorsement and you're all kicked off and replaced, _then _you can say how you all really hate me. But until then I am still your Princess and I still expect to be spoken to as such."

Naminé was beaming as she watched her other half dismiss her keyblade and retake her seat. Stressed out and six-months pregnant and Kairi could still make the council members wet their overly-starched pants.

"Now," Kairi began, as she gave her council a faux-sweet smile. "Do you mind telling me _why _you're rejecting my proposal?"

"Conflict of interests," another council member piped up from further down the table.

Kairi stared. "What do you mean a conflict of interests? King Mickey endorses the idea and he's willing to help; as do the other three keyblade Masters. We're trying to help citizens of other worlds. Where does the conflict of interest come in?"

"Well," began the first councilman, "We feel that your proposal is a conflict of interests because your universal protection idea would somewhat replace the current means of protection against heartless-,"

"The keyblade Masters," another council member piped.

"Which would leave _you_, both being one and being married to one, with, well,"

"With more time with your husband."

Kairi stared blankly at her council as she took a moment to process their thinly-veiled slight.

Naminé quickly checked to make sure her computer was still recording. "They've done it now." She whispered to herself.

Kairi gave a very short laugh. "You think this is all about my husband." She shook her head, and then raised her dignified gaze to glare at the council. "I cannot deny that the duty that comes with the keyblade did help to inspire my idea, but it is not the only thing driving it. Yes, I miss my husband. Yes, I miss my friends. Yes, I hate that we have not led normal or peaceful lives since we were _fourteen._ But we were not the first Keyblade bearers nor will we be the last. And I'll not have any other lives interrupted the way ours were. The least I can do for the future wielders is give them some help, so that when the threat of darkness arises, at least they won't be left to deal with it alone."

Naminé smiled at the shocked looks on the council members' faces. They hadn't been expecting such difficult to reject arguments.

"So," Kairi smiled. "What's the verdict?"

"We'll get back to you, and…"

"And come up with more objections? No. Verdict. _Now._"

The council members exchanged looks. "Rejected."

"Rejection recorded." Naminé announced from the back of the room.

"Vetoed."

Naminé smiled. "Veto recorded. She doesn't need your approval on this one, nor is she asking you for it. Motion passed."

Kairi glared. "Get right on that." She suddenly brightened up. "Now, is that all?"

"Well, actually…"

Naminé tuned them out. She readjusted her earpiece, what was Sonia saying?

Naminé inhaled sharply.

Kairi and the council turned to look at her. Naminé stood and looked at Kairi, smiling. It didn't matter that she was too excited to form words; her grin said everything to her other half.

The council watched in confusion as Kairi sprung from her seat and she and Naminé took off out of the room and down the hallway as fast as a woman in heels and a six month pregnant woman can go.

They reached the front entrance hall in no time. Despite her excitement, Naminé couldn't help but stop when she finally reached the hall. Kairi, on the other hand, had kept going, running as best she could into the arms of her spiky-haired husband. "Sora!"

Naminé smiled as she watched their reunion. "You're really dressed up. I wasn't interrupting some big to-do, was I?"

Kairi laughed. "Just a council meeting."

"You're welcome."

"You didn't tell me you were coming home!"

"Kairi, I would have, but the computer was broken."

"No, you wouldn't! You would have told me that you weren't sure when you could come home, then you would come back and surprise me anyway! But until then you would have left me here to worry!" After that Kairi simply broke down and started sobbing happily into Sora's chest, who simply shook his head at her, and kissed her forehead. Naminé sighed. One of the things she had always envied Kairi most was Sora's love for her. He seemed to show it in everything he did for her; even the way he held her now, so close and so tight, yet so gently (especially gently now so as not to crush baby).

"Hi Naminé." Naminé jumped a foot in the air, and spun to see Riku laughing hysterically at her. She punched his arm.

"Riku!" After he stopped laughing, Naminé decided to stop being mad at him long enough to give him a hug.

"Roxas really missed you, you know." Riku whispered in her ear as he leaned down to hug her. Naminé refused to look at him as he released her, but after a moment she was forced to meet his gaze. "He really does care about you, Nami."

Naminé glared. "Shut up." All the same she turned back to look at Sora and Kairi, and noticed Roxas lurking at the end of the hall, brooding, as usual. Her breath hitched as he turned to meet her stare. He gave her his patented smirk, and Naminé couldn't help but smile. Why was she worrying so much? This was still Roxas; this was still her best friend. Before she knew what she was doing, she had ran the full length of the hall and flung her arms around him. He picked her up and spun her around, before setting her back on the ground and pulling her close. Naminé smiled into his jacket as she heard him whisper into her ear, "I really missed you, Naminé."

"I know." She looked up to smile at him, but instead was surprised by his lips pressing against hers. Naminé involuntarily melted into his touch. She had forgotten how wonderful it was to kiss him; how he perpetually tasted like Sea-Salt ice-cream, even if it had been weeks since he'd had any; the way he made her feel so meek, so shy, so…true. There was the dignified, determined, frightening, commanding Naminé that terrified palace workers. There was the resilient, commanding, don't-mess-with-me Naminé that kept the council in line. Then there was the meek, shy, quiet, artist Naminé who only ever felt like herself when she was with Kairi or in Roxas's arms. She had forgotten how wonderfully herself she felt when he kissed her.

How had she gone three years without this touch? _Because you don't love him, remember?_

Naminé forced herself to pull away. Roxas released her and looked away. "Sorry. I shouldn't…I just…I missed you…and,"

"It was just a 'nice to see you again' kiss." Naminé supplied helpfully, more for her own sanity than anything else.

"Yeah…that." Roxas replied, nervously meeting her eyes. They smiled at each other. _Best friends, the way it should be._

They were surprised to realize that nobody had noticed their kiss. Sora and Kairi had still been getting reacquainted when Riku had made his presence known by telling the two to get a room. The already emotional Kairi had hit him, hugged him, then started giving her boys a good dressing down for not telling her they were coming so soon, and worrying her so, and all the other things Kairi yelled at them for whenever they went adventuring and she didn't get to come.

When Roxas and Naminé finally rejoined the conversation, they were distracted from talking about what just happened by Kairi giving Roxas his dose of her hormone-injected 'I'm so glad you're back!'/ 'What took you so long?!', and by Sora greeting Naminé with his usual teasing about how many poor, innocent housekeepers she'd managed to scare that day.

While Roxas and Naminé did their best to pretend the kiss had never happened, neither could deny to themselves that they were happy it did.

KH

Dinner had been relatively uneventful. Well, as relatively uneventful as any dinner between five friends who haven't been all together for quite a while can be. So 'relatively uneventful' is a phrase which here means, 'Kairi didn't start sobbing again, Naminé didn't send the cook into a panic attack, Sora and Riku didn't start and food fight, and nobody ended up swinging from the chandelier.'

After dinner, Naminé had finished her daily routine, which consisted of insuring that the doors to Kairi and Sora's quarters were securely locked, the palace employees were all genuinely petrified of putting a toe out of line, and everything was ready and in place for the all the activity that would fill the hallways tomorrow morning.

Naminé puffed a long, deep sigh as she collapsed on the sofa in her own private rooms. She kicked off her oh-so-comfortable white heels (thank you Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) and wriggled her toes. A long day of keeping palace workers in line sure took it out of her.

After a few minutes of simply resting, Naminé dragged herself up and to her studio. This was her time. Naminé spent her days coordinating palace operations, but her evenings were dedicated to her art. She changed out of her white suit and into a simple white sundress. All these years, and she still felt most herself and most artsy when in that simple white frock. She hit the button on her stereo and let the classical music fill the room. What did she feel like doing today? Painting? Yes. Slinging some paint onto a blank canvas had always made her feel much better after an emotionally strenuous day (like today had been.)

Naminé hummed along with the music and she set up her canvas and started opening a rather large can of blue paint. What she was going to paint, she didn't know. But it was going to have blue.

"Hey." Naminé jumped and dropped the can of paint, splattering blue paint all over her legs and feet. The blonde spun around to see Roxas leaning up against the window, smirking at her.

"Roxas!" she yelled, "Look what you made me do!" Naminé took a deep breath. "How did you even get in here?!"

Roxas raised an eyebrow at her. "Dark corridors. Duh. I can still use them, remember? You could too, but then again you couldn't terrify the workers with the ominous sound of those heels of yours. I swear they're the only pair of shoes in the history of 3-inch heels that can be heard from half a mile away."

Naminé rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I do not scare the workers."

"You just keep tellin' yourself that."

Naminé ignored him. She picked up the can of paint and set it back on a shelf. She would have to take a shower anyway, so she didn't bother cleaning the paint off of her legs. "So what do you want?" She asked as she began setting up her paint pallet.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened this afternoon."

Naminé paused, her hand frozen in place as it reached for a paint bottle. She shook her head a little and continued her movements. "What about it?"

Roxas moved from his place against the window and started to follow her around the room. Naminé tried to busy herself so she could ignore him, but found him very difficult to shake.

"Naminé, we've had hearts and beings of our own for four years! So why is it that Sora and Kairi have gotten married and pregnant in that time, and I've only kissed you twice in the last three years?!"

"…Roxas…" Naminé quickened her movements about the room, trying to tune him out.

"Naminé." Roxas was unrelenting. Finally Naminé stopped and turned to face him.

"Because we aren't them anymore, remember?" She glared at him before returning to her work.

"Why does that matter? Naminé," Roxas stopped following her, and instead chose to stand still and let his voice haunt her and she attempted to work. "Why were we more in love back when we didn't have hearts to love with than we are now? Huh? We weren't even allowed to see each other, and yet we still made it work. We had nothing to gain and everything to lose, and that still didn't stop us!"

"Shut up." Naminé said quietly, trying not to listen.

"Naminé," Roxas stepped closer to her and her canvas. "We don't have DiZ, or the Organization standing between us anymore. We've got hearts to love with! How many times did we wish for that? We've got nothing to lose and everything to gain, so why can't we make this work?"

Naminé threw down her pallet and turned to face him. She was inches from his face, but was too furious to notice the proximity. "Because it's the other way around. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain. We didn't have anything to live for, so we had to find something in each other. We didn't have hearts, so we didn't have to worry about getting them broken. We knew we were going to fade away, so why not make something of the time we had. But now…" Naminé shook her head. "Now…now we've got nothing to gain and everything to lose. We already know that it would work; Sora and Kairi are proof of that. Like we need one more reason to prove we're their shadows…And yes, we have hearts, but it was painful enough when I was hurt as a nobody…I don't wanna know what that feels like now."

Naminé turned her back on him and tried to begin painting, ignoring the tears running down her cheeks. Roxas was still standing behind her. She could hear his breathing.

"Did you know that when I first got my heart, Sora asked if I wanted to change my name?"

Naminé was taken aback by this, but tried to reply casually. "Why?"

"He said that since I wasn't his nobody anymore, maybe I wouldn't want a name that was a shadow of his, either. Sora with an X; well, since I wasn't Sora anymore, maybe I wanted a new name."

"Why didn't you change it?" Naminé asked, forcing herself not to sound too harsh.

"Because I'm Roxas. That's the name I've always known; the name I've come to like. It may be the shadow of Sora's name, but it _isn't _Sora's. The way I see it, how does changing my name so that it isn't the shadow of Sora's separate me anymore from the boy who doesn't want to be his shadow, then keeping the name because I'm his shadow and I have to."

Naminé paused. He had a point. Which meant he was about to make another one, and she had a feeling she knew where he was going with it.

"So how is refusing to be in love just so that we have one less connection to Sora and Kairi any better than being in love because they are and we don't have a choice? Either way, it still connects us to that central, undeniable fact that we used to be them, and didn't want to be." He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face him, and held her there firmly. "Why can't we fall in love because _we _chose to? Not because the Sora and Kairi in us told us too?"

Naminé squirmed in his grasp, desperately wanting to be free of his undeniable logic, but at the same time, loving the warmth of his palms on her shoulders.

"Naminé," Roxas lowered his head to try and peer into her eyes, which stubbornly refused to meet his. "Naminé." Finally he forced her to look at him. "Nami, if you don't love me, then fine. But if you don't it better be because _you _don't. Not because you want one less reason to be connected to Kairi."

He let go of her shoulders and Naminé watched him walk to the door. He paused in the doorframe. "You need to make of your mind, and you need to make up your mind soon. If you truly don't love me, then fine. But I need to know soon, because if you don't want me then I'm leaving this world. I've always hated this place and I'd be much happier back in Twilight Town."

"If you hate this world so much, then why have you stayed here so long?"

Roxas snorted sarcastically. He turned back to look at her. "Same reason Sora lives here even though he hates it here."

"Sora hates it here?"

Roxas laughed. "Haven't you noticed? He _despises _this place. He hates how dry the air is, how if he listens really closely at night he can't hear the ocean. He hates how so unlike the islands this place is. The whole reason he puts up with this place is because of Kairi. _She_ likes it here, and _she _is the princess here, and _she _likes living here. She still misses the islands, but this place feels like home to her, so Sora puts up with it for her. _She's _the only thing that makes this place home for him…and _you're_ the only thing that has ever made it feel like home to me. So if you don't want me then there's nothing left for me here."

Naminé wasn't given a chance to reply, but her mouth had suddenly gotten so dry she found she couldn't have replied if she'd known what to say anyway. He turned and walked out the door, leaving her in her empty studio.

Naminé finally turned back to her painting. Blurry eyed, she started working, barely aware of what she was doing. Her oblivion was interrupted when her stereo cut off, obviously finished with the CD. She blinked the tears from her eyes and examined her painting. It was blurry and messy and very reminiscent of her crayon drawings. But the image was clear enough. A boy with messy golden-blonde spikes and a black cloak, holding the hand of a small, very pale, blonde-haired girl in a simple white sundress, who was so very pale that she wouldn't have been noticeable against the white canvas had a pale blue background not been added. Their eyes were clear though; blue. Blue like the ocean, blue like the sky, blue like all the tears she had cried for him.

That had been so very long ago. Naminé stared sadly at her painting. They had been in love. _Love. _And that had been before they knew who Sora and Kairi were, before they knew who _they _were, before being Sora and Kairi's nobodies meant anything to them.

_I want to love him._

Naminé couldn't come up with a good reason to deny that.

_I _do _love him._

Never had truer words been spoken. Thought. Whatever.

Naminé dropped her brushes and pallet and took off, through her rooms, into the hallways, down the winding corridors (the _colorful _ones; how sick she'd become of white hallways!) she had to find him, she had to! Naminé knew Roxas would have walked to his rooms slowly; he'd have had no reason to hurry. She knew the way to his rooms from hers by heart. She sprinted down the hallways, bounding down stairs and skidding around corners. She found him in no time. It dimly registered to Naminé how odd it was to travel down these halls without the accompanying click-clack of her white heels.

He didn't notice her as she first turned the corner into the hallway, but she shouted his name as she approached. His tired, sad expression changed immediately into one of surprise as he noticed her running helter-skelter towards him. He opened his arms to her just in time for Naminé to fling herself into him; pressing her lips to his as he wrapped his arms around her. How had she gone the last three years without this? How had she been stupid enough to refuse his love just because she didn't want to be Kairi anymore? How had she owned a heart for this long and yet refused to turn it on?

_This_ was safety; _this _was the security she'd always adored when Roxas held her close and kissed her deeply. Why hadn't she seen it there before? She'd loved him all along.

When they finally broke the kiss, Naminé buried her head in his chest and muttered over and over. "I don't want you to leave; I don't want you to leave."

She melted as Roxas whispered into her ear, "I don't intend to; not without you, at least."

Naminé smiled into his jacket. "I _do _love you." She whispered.

Roxas smiled. She'd said it softly, but he heard it loud and clear. "I know you do."

KH

The next morning, Naminé found that she had never been so happy that the housekeepers were terrified of her. It kept them from asking why there was a trail of blue-paint footprints leading back and forth from her room to Roxas's.

_FINI_

A/N: Um, so the fact that there were blue footprints leading _back _to Namine's room is supposed to imply that she wasn't at Roxas's room long enough for the paint to dry...

Such an out-of-the-blue story, I know. Also the longest oneshot I've written to date. Luck was insanely long,8 pages on Microsoft word, but this was a whopping 15, plus a little on the 16th page!

So, if people like this one, I think I may do more with the general futuristic setting. I rather like it. I've got other ideas; such as a sokai companion to this; a bit of a scandal (more like a _serious _invasion of privacy) set sometime after Kairi has her baby; a bit about Roxas and Namine's situations after they first got their own hearts; what happened at Sora and Kairi's wedding that broke Roxas and Namine up for three years...I've got plenty of ideas. I'm not going into _how _they got their own hearts. I will not attempt to write some sort of KH3.

Reviews are love. Reviews can be hate. Reviews. Please. Even if they're flames. Bring it on. Reviews. Please. Thank you. Love.


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